1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state electronic image imaging device comprising a lot of photoelectric conversion elements arranged in the column direction and the row direction, vertical transfer paths for transferring signal charges respectively accumulated in the photoelectric conversion elements in the vertical direction, transfer gates for respectively shifting the signal charges accumulated in the photoelectric conversion elements to the vertical transfer paths upon receipt of transfer gate pulses, and a horizontal transfer path for horizontally transferring the signal charges transferred from the vertical transfer paths and a method of controlling the operation thereof.
2. Background of the Invention
A CCD (Charge Coupled Device) in a honeycomb arrangement where photoelectric conversion elements are arranged in odd rows or even rows with respect to odd columns and arranged in even rows or odd rows with respect to even columns has been developed. In the CCD of the honeycomb arrangement, color filters which allow the transmission of a blue or red light component are respectively arranged on the photoelectric conversion elements in odd rows or even rows, and color filters which allow the transmission of a blue or red light component are alternately arranged for each column and for each row on the photoelectric conversion elements in even rows or odd rows.
In the CCD of the honeycomb arrangement, when signal charges are respectively shifted from the photoelectric conversion elements to the vertical transfer paths and are thinned such that the amount of signal charges is reduced to half, the signal charges outputted from the vertical transfer paths may, in some cases, be the same as signal charges obtained in a case where the same color filters are arranged on the photoelectric conversion elements of one column, for example, those in a solid-state electronic imaging device where color filters which allow the transmission of an R (red), G (green) or B (blue) light component are arranged on the photoelectric conversion elements of one column for each column. In such a case, when signal charges corresponding to three pixels which are adjacent in the horizontal direction are mixed to generate complementary colors, all of the columns are white (W), yellow (Ye) or cyan (Cy) (the reason why the complementary colors are generated is that the number of pixels corresponding to the signal charges is substantially reduced to one-third by generating the complementary colors, thereby making it possible to increase the speed of transfer).
In order to return (or reproduce) signals representing the generated complementary colors to an RGB color signal, signals representing three complementary colors, i.e., white, yellow and cyan are required. Unless signal charges corresponding to four pixels are used in the horizontal direction, the three complementary colors, i.e., white, yellow and cyan cannot be obtained. Even if signal processing is devised, therefore, false signals are increased.
Such a problem also arises with a so-called G-stripe B/R checkered color filter arrangement where color filters which allow the transmission of a green light component are arranged in a vertical stripe shape, and color filters which allow the transmission of a blue or red light component are arranged in a checkered shape.